The mere thought of being caught is a powerful deterrent to would-be criminals. There are several ways police deter crime: visibility, warnings, fines, arrests are just some of them. Police visibility is a great way to deter crime. A criminal would be less likely to commit a crime if he or she had recently seen a police officer in that area. Robert Apel's article, published in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, states that the visibility of officers, sometimes called corner cops, projects a credible threat of detection and arrest. (Apel, 2013). Another way police deter crime is by increasing arrests and fines. “Police discourage crime when they do things that reinforce a criminal's perception of certainty of being caught.” (Five Things, 2016). When the police crack down on certain crimes, the general population begins to avoid committing them, due to the increased chance of being caught. For example, when the “click it or ticket” law was enacted and the police were very strict towards anyone wearing seat belts. Many people were stopped and given tickets. More and more people began wearing seat belts, especially if it was an area where a police officer was known to be waiting